Method And System For Collecting Contemporaneous Information Relating To A Critical Event

ABSTRACT

The present invention is directed to a method and system for collecting contemporaneous information relating to a critical event. The method includes receiving a call requesting an emergency response to a critical event and in response to the call, using at least one communication network to transmit a request for supplemental information from reporting devices located in a specified area related to the critical event. The supplemental information is received over the at least one communication network.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation application of co-pending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 11/080,285, filed Mar. 14, 2005, titled “Method andSystem For Collecting Contemporaneous Information Relating to a CriticalEvent,” (now U.S. Pat. No. ______, issued ______), which is commonlyowned with this application and is herein incorporated by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to an emergency response system, and moreparticularly to a method and system for collecting contemporaneousinformation relating to a critical event.

BACKGROUND

In the event of an emergency, most if not all countries allow a personto request aid or to report an emergency through a public emergencynotification system. For example, in the United States, a person can usethe telephone system to notify emergency response personnel of animpending or pending emergency by entering the numbers 9-1-1 into anydevice coupled to the telephone network. This particular sequence ofnumbers is routed directly to an emergency response center where anoperator collects information from the person reporting the incident.This information typically includes the nature of the emergency and thelocation of the caller, as well as other information that can assist theoperator in dispatching the appropriate emergency response personnel.

Based on the information culled from the caller, the operator mustdetermine which emergency response personnel to alert. Nevertheless, insome circumstances, the information provided by the caller can belimited, i.e., the caller is not sure of his or her location, or theinformation can be inadequate, i.e., the caller is not able to providedetailed information or is not aware of the totality of thecircumstances. For example, the caller might be reporting a strangechemical smell, but not realize that a building is on fire a few yardsaway. The operator may alert a hazardous materials inspection team, butnot necessarily the fire department. While corrective measures can betaken once the alerted emergency personnel arrive on the scene, e.g.,the hazardous materials inspectors can determine that the firedepartment must be alerted, precious time is wasted.

Moreover, the information provided by the caller is but one snapshot intime. Once the call is terminated, the emergency response operator hasno way of monitoring the event. Thus, if an emergency situation morphsinto another emergency situation, i.e., a domestic dispute turns into achild abduction situation, the operator has no way of responding to thisunless the caller initiates another 9-1-1 call.

Accordingly, what is needed is an improved method and system forcollecting information about a critical event such as an emergencysituation. The method and system should allow an emergency responsecenter to receive appropriate and adequate information to alert theappropriate responders. In addition, the center should be able tocontinue monitoring a critical event so that new developments can bedetected and the proper alerts issued in a timely manner. The presentinvention addresses such a need.

SUMMARY

In one embodiment, the present invention is directed to a method forcollecting contemporaneous information relating to a critical event thatincludes receiving a call requesting an emergency response to a criticalevent and, in response to the call, using at least one communicationnetwork to transmit a request for supplemental information fromreporting devices located in a specified area related to the criticalevent. The supplemental information is received over the at least onecommunication network.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, supplementalinformation relating to a reported emergency is provided by a pluralityof wired and mobile device users that are located in specified areasrelated to the emergency, e.g., the vicinity of the reported emergency.The supplemental information can be provided verbally, in the form oftext messages, or in the form of captured image data from telephones,PDAs, mobile phones, and mobile camera phones for example. Periodicupdates can be requested to monitor continuously the development of theemergency situation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of an exemplary communication network.

FIG. 2 is schematic block diagram of an exemplary emergency responsenetwork according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for collecting informationrelating to a critical event according to an embodiment of the presentinvention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of an emergency response centeraccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart describing a process for collecting, processingand displaying contemporaneous information according to an embodiment ofthe present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to an emergency response system, and moreparticularly to a method and system for collecting contemporaneousinformation relating to a critical event. The following description ispresented to enable one of ordinary skill in the art to make and use theinvention and is provided in the context of a patent application and itsrequirements. Various modifications to the preferred embodiment and thegeneric principles and features described herein will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown, but is to be accordedthe widest scope consistent with the principles and features describedherein.

According to the preferred embodiment of the present invention,information relating to a critical event is collected by an emergencyresponse center via wireless and wired communication networks. Theinformation is provided by a plurality of wired and wireless reportingdevices that are also coupled to the wired and wireless communicationnetwork. When a critical event is identified, the emergency responsecenter transmits requests over the communication networks forsupplemental information regarding the critical event from the pluralityof reporting devices. This supplemental information is transmitted backto the emergency response center for processing. In the preferredembodiment, the wireless communication network is a cellular telephonecommunication system and the reporting devices include mobile and wiredtelephones.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a conventional communication networksystem that includes wired and wireless phone systems. The wired phonesystem 12 includes a public switching telephone network (PSTN) 25 and aplurality of wired telephones 52. The wired telephones 52 are associatedwith a fixed location, e.g., an office building, residence, or store.The PSTN 25 receives and routes calls from the wired telephones 52 toother wired telephones 52 and to the wireless phone system 10.

The wireless phone system 10 includes at least one cellular tower 32coupled to a base station 30, a mobile telecommunications switchingoffice (MTSO) 20, and a public switching telephone network (PSTN) 25,which is coupled to the MTSO 20. Each tower 32 services a definedgeographical area, known as a cell. A cellular tower 32 may be locatedat any suitable location, e.g., on top of a mountain or building, andmay include several emitters (not shown). Each emitter may outputmultiple signals including, for example, a control channel and voicechannels for communicating with a plurality of mobile wireless devices50, e.g., cell phones, PDAs, etc.

Generally, each emitter may cover a separate geographical area, known asa sector, of a particular cell. Each sector may differ in a known mannerby frequency or code depending on whether the cellular system 10 employsan analog or a digital format and, also in a known manner, on theparticular radio access technology of the cellular system 10. Examplesof radio access technology systems include frequency division multipleaccess (FDMA), time division multiple access (TDMA), code divisionmultiple access (CDMA), and space division multiple access (SDMA). Wherethe cellular system 10 does not have a capability to calculate latitudeand longitude of a handset, the identification of a sector as a wholemay be the smallest cellular unit area in which the location of devices50 may be identified. SDMA technology, however, allows a sector to besubdivided into smaller cells, thereby reducing the geographical size ofthe smallest cellular unit area.

Each base station (BS) 30 may include a transmitter and a scanningreceiver that are coupled to a base station controller (BSC) 34. Thebase station controller 34 may be housed at the same location as thebase station 30, as shown, or may be located some distance away and maycontrol multiple base stations 30, as in Global System for MobileCommunication (GSM) networks. The base station controller 34 maycomprise a processor and a temporary storage and a permanent storage andoperates to receive data input concerning various mobile devices 50 fromthe MTSO 20. The base station controller 34 may also provide localcontrol over a base station 30 including establishing control channeland voice channel communication with various mobile devices 50. The basestation controller 34 may also be configured to establish a particulargeographical location of a mobile device 50 through use of varioustechniques such as time difference of arrival, angle of arrival, andsignal pattern matching, or in combination with information provided bya device 50 such as assisted global positioning satellite (a-GPS).

The base station controller 34 may communicate via any suitablecommunication link such as a wire, a fiber optic system, or a microwavesystem, with the MTSO 20. The MTSO 20 is responsible for receiving androuting calls from the mobile devices 50 in the cellular network 10. TheMTSO 20 receives all calls from the BS's 30 under its control and routesthese calls to other BS's 30 and devices 50 in the network 10, as wellas connects to the PSTN 25 or dedicated servers, routers, or tandemsavailable for specialized purposes. The MTSO 20 also can authenticatemobile devices 50 before they can be used to make calls, provide highlevel command and control over the base station controllers 34, andswitch calls between cells as mobile devices 50 travel across cellboundaries.

Each mobile device, e.g., mobile phone 50, registers itself with aparticular cell having the strongest forward control channel signalemitted from the associated tower 32. This cell is typically associatedwith the geographical location of the mobile phone 50. To register, thedevice 50 typically uses a reverse control path to transmit identifyinginformation, such as its phone number, its electronic serial number, andits home system ID, to the associated base station controller 34. Thebase station controller 34 relays this information to the MTSO 20, whichcommunicates with different sources, switching centers and databases toverify that the mobile device 50 has rights to access the network 10.

Once the mobile phone 50 is registered, it can receive incoming calls.Notably, registration is an ongoing process that is triggered either bythe device 50 moving to a different cell or by the expiration of apredetermined time period. The base station controller 34 can initiateregistration requests independently by transmitting a signal to eachmobile device 50 in its cell instructing the mobile device 50 toidentify itself. In such a manner, the base station controller 34 for aparticular service area and the MTSO 20 are aware of the mobile devices50 in the service area and each device's approximate location.

Many mobile telephones 50 are now equipped with a GPS chipset so thatthe user can determine with accuracy his or her location. Some serviceproviders allow GPS enabled mobile telephones to be tracked. Moreover,in the United States, government standards, namely the “Enhanced 911(E-911)” rules promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission,require that the location of a wireless caller be able to be determinedwithout the caller's assistance. Although several techniques can be usedto locate the mobile telephone 50, e.g., using the signal to calculatetime difference of arrival, angle of arrival, and signal patternmatching, etc., the most promising solutions use GPS technology.Accordingly, most if not all mobile telephones in the United States willeventually be GPS enabled. With GPS, the mobile telephone 50 canautomatically determine and relay its location data (longitude,latitude, elevation, etc.) whenever it registers with the base station30, or upon request by the base station controller 34.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, an EmergencyResponse Center (ERC) is in communication with a plurality of wireless10 and wired 12 communication network systems and coordinates thecollection of contemporaneous information using the plurality ofnetworks 10, 12. FIG. 2 is schematic block diagram illustrating anexemplary emergency response network according to an embodiment of thepresent invention. As is shown, the ERC 200 is coupled to a plurality ofwired networks 12 and to a plurality of wireless networks 10 forcommunicating with wired 52 and mobile 50 devices via a network 102 thatcan be a secure LAN, WAN or any other suitable secure communicationconnection. In one embodiment, the ERC 200 is coupled to the pluralityof wireless networks 10 via each network's MTSO 20 (FIG. 1) and to theplurality of wired networks 12 via the PSTN 25 (FIG. 1). The ERC 200 isalso in communication with a plurality of critical event responders 110,e.g., law enforcement personnel, a fire department, the FBI, theDepartment of Homeland Security, etc.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a process for collectingcontemporaneous information relating to a critical event according to anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, acall is received requesting an emergency response to a critical event(step 300) and in response, the ERC 200 uses the wireless 10 and wired12 communication networks to transmit requests for supplementalinformation relating to the critical event from wireless mobile devices50 and from wired devices 52 (collectively referred to as “reportingdevices”) that are located in specified areas related to the criticalevent (step 302). The supplemental information can be provided in averbal conversation, a text message, a video clip, or a captured digitalimage, depending on the capabilities of the reporting device 50, 52. TheERC 200 receives and collects the requested supplemental informationfrom the reporting devices 50, 52 (step 304) over the wireless 10 andwired 12 communication networks.

In one embodiment, the ERC 200 compiles and organizes the supplementalinformation, and presents it to the plurality of critical eventresponders 110. Depending on the nature of the critical event, the ERC200 can transmit periodic requests for information and update theinformation as an event unfolds. In this manner, location and timesensitive information can be collected, processed and presented tocritical event responders 110 such that the appropriate critical eventresponders 110 can devise effective and appropriate actions.

FIG. 4 is an exemplary block diagram of the ERC 200 according to oneembodiment of the present invention. The ERC 200 includes acommunication interface 202, a plurality of receiving stations 204, acentral command module 220 and a display 230. The communicationinterface 202 allows the ERC 200 to communicate, i.e., receive andtransmit data in a known manner, with the plurality of wireless 10 andwireless 12 networks, and the responders 110. The receiving stations 204are preferably work stations that receive the data from thecommunication interface 202 and, if possible, display the data to anevaluator 206 who preferably analyzes the data.

The evaluator 206 can also use the receiving station to have a verbalconversation with the user. In one embodiment, each receiving station204 includes an audio to text converter 210 that automaticallytranscribes the verbal conversation into a written report and stores theconversation as an audio clip in memory. Thus, if a responder 110 needsto listen to the live conversation, e.g., for investigative purposes,the responder 110 can retrieve the audio clip from the memory andanalyze the conversation. In another embodiment, the evaluator 206 canmanually transcribe the conversation into the written report.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, while one evaluator 206 is depictedfor the sake of simplicity, each receiving station 204 can be operatedby an evaluator 206. Thus, for a relatively small ERC 200, e.g., onethat serves a rural area, one or a few evaluators 206 can be sufficientto operate the ERC 200. Whereas, for a large metropolitan city or area,the ERC 200 can include several evaluators 206 and receiving stations204 to handle the potential volume of information. Hence, the ERC 200 isscalable depending on the area serviced.

The receiving stations 204 are coupled to the central command module220, which is responsible for organizing the collected information andpresenting the information to the responders 110. The central commandmodule 220 includes mapping data 222, a clock 224, a text manager 226and an image data manager 228. The mapping data 222 includesgeographical mapping information including street level data. Thecentral command module 220 can preferably map longitude and latitudecoordinates to a street or city level. The clock 224 allows the centralcommand module 220 to place a time stamp on incoming data. The textmanager 224 processes text messages received from the reporting devices50, 52 and the written reports derived from the verbal conversations,while the image data manager 226 manages image data received from thereporting devices 50, 52.

For each text message, written report and/or image associated with acall from a reporting device 50, 52, the central command module 220timestamps the supplemental information and associates it with themapping data corresponding to the reporting device 50, 52. The centralcommand module 220 passes that information to a display controller 229.

For a given critical event, the display controller 229 generates acontemporaneous composite diagram 232 that includes at least onesituation map 233. Each situation map 233 illustrates a specified areaand shows the location of each reporting device 50, 52 in the specifiedarea and the associated information provided by the user of thereporting device 50, 52. The contemporaneous composite diagram 232 isthen displayed on a display 230, which can be located at the ERC 200and/or at any one or all of the responders 110.

Emergency response personnel can analyze the contemporaneous compositediagram 232 on the display 230 and evaluate the information associatedwith various locations shown on the one or more situation maps 233. Thecontemporaneous composite diagram 232 can be updated periodically withnew information received by the ERC 200. In addition, the emergencyresponse personnel at the ERC 200 (or elsewhere) can make requests forinformation associated with a particular location, shown or not shown onthe contemporaneous composite diagram 232. In a preferred embodiment,on-site emergency response personnel can coordinate requests forsupplemental information from off-site responders 110.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating a process for collecting, processingand presenting information related to a critical event according to anembodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, theprocess begins when a call requesting an emergency response, i.e., a 911call, is received (step 500). The call can be received by a 911operator, or it can be received directly by the ERC 200. If the calleris using a wired device 52, the location of the caller can be determinedautomatically because the wired device 52 is associated with a fixedlocation/address. If the caller is using a wireless mobile device 52,the location can be approximated by the base station controller 34(FIG. 1) or provided by a GPS chipset in the mobile device 52, asdiscussed above.

Once received, the call is evaluated by the 911 operator or by theevaluator 206 (step 502) to determine whether the situation is acritical event. Whether a situation is a critical event can be definedby a governmental agency or by another public policy making entity. Forexample, a critical event can be limited to certain situations such asan alleged terrorist attack, a natural disaster, or an abduction.

If the situation is not a critical event (step 504), the appropriateresponder(s) 110 is notified (step 505) and the system waits for thenext emergency call (step 516). If the situation is identified as acritical event (step 504), the ERC 200 immediately locates reportingdevices 50, 52 in a specified area (step 506) related to the criticalevent. The specified area can be in the vicinity surrounding thelocation of the caller reporting the critical event, but need not belimited to that area. For example, depending on the situation, thespecified area can be entry and exit points, such as bridges andtunnels, or other surrounding regions that may be of interest.Accordingly, the specified area is dynamic. In other words, it canexpand or contract and be located away from the location of the criticalevent.

In a preferred embodiment, the ERC 200 can locate reporting devices 50,52 by contacting at least one wireless 10 and/or at least one wired 12network in the specified area. Wired devices 52 can be located by theirphone numbers and associated locations/addresses. Wireless mobiledevices 50 can be located by querying the base station controllers 34 ineach wireless network 10 for the wireless devices 50 within its servicearea. A base station controller 34 can then transmit a command over thecontrol channel instructing all mobile devices 50 in the service area toprovide its identifying information, including its location data ifavailable.

The identifying information and associated location data for eachreporting device 50, 52 is returned to the ERC 200. In one embodiment,one or more receiving stations 204 at the ERC 200 receives theidentifying information and associated location data and displays to theevaluator 206 a map 208 of the specified area with marks, e.g., a dot,on the map 208 corresponding to a location of each of the reportingdevices 50, 52.

Once the reporting devices 50, 52 in a specified area are located (step506), the ERC 200 transmits a request to each reporting device 50, 52located in the specified area for supplemental information regarding thecritical event (step 508). In one embodiment, the evaluator 206 at theERC 200 can use the map 208 and select which of the reporting devices50, 52 to transmit the request for supplemental information, forexample, by pointing to the mark on the map 208 corresponding to thereporting device 50, 52. Alternatively, a “select all” function can beprovided, which when selected, automatically transmits the request toall reporting devices 50, 52 on the map 208.

In a preferred embodiment, the ERC 200 can have access to a secureemergency communication channel that preempts all other communicationchannels. Accordingly, requests from the ERC 200 can interruptpreexisting connections and can block other incoming calls and/or pages.

The request for information can be made by a live operator calling fromthe ERC 200. Alternatively, the request transmitted by the ERC 200 canbe an automated text or voice message instructing the user to provide awritten or verbal description of the user's surroundings or what theuser has witnessed or is currently observing. The request can alsoinstruct the user to take pictures or video if the reporting device 50,52 is capable of doing so.

In one embodiment, the ERC 200 transmits the request to the user and ifthe user answers the call, an automated voice message notifies the userthat a critical event is taking place, and to wait to speak to anoperator. The receiving station 204 can then connect the operator to theuser, thereby saving time. In another embodiment, the automated voicemessage can ask the user to indicate whether the user has usefulinformation relating to the critical event, by for example, instructingthe user to “press 1” if the user has useful information and to “press2” if the user is not aware of the critical event. In this manner, callsfrom users having no relevant information can be automatically filtered.

In one embodiment, the receiving stations 204 in the ERC 200 can becoupled to a phone bank (not shown), where live operators can speakdirectly to users of the selected reporting devices 50, 52. Thisembodiment can be effective, for example, for severe emergencies wherethe operator can actively interrogate the user in order to collectpertinent information. The conversation can be transcribed into awritten report automatically by the audio to text converter 210 orsummarized by the operator. In either case, the live conversation can berecorded and stored for future reference.

The receiving stations 204 at the ERC 200 receive the supplementalinformation from the reporting devices 50, 52 in the specified area viathe wireless 10 and wired 12 networks, and the evaluator 206 analyzesthe supplemental information for relevance (step 510). If theinformation is relevant, it is passed to the central command module 220,which uses the clock 224, the text manager 226 and the image datamanager 228 to correlate the information by location and time.

The display controller 229 can add the relevant supplemental informationto the appropriate situation map 233 in the contemporaneous compositediagram 232 and then display the relevant supplemental information witha timestamp in the contemporaneous composite diagram 232 (step 512). Forexample, for a particular reporting device, e.g., a mobile phone 50,located at a particular point, the corresponding situation map 233 candepict the street location of the particular point, the text message,written report and/or images associated with the reporting device 50,and the timestamp indicating when the supplemental information wasreceived. In one embodiment, a responder 110 or emergency responsepersonnel can select the written report and retrieve and play therecorded conversation associated with the written report.

In addition, after the evaluator 206 has analyzed the incomingsupplemental information (step 510), the on-site emergency responsepersonnel can notify appropriate and/or additional responder(s) 110 ofthe critical event based on the supplemental information received fromthe reporting devices 50, 52 (step 505).

If additional information is needed (step 514), e.g., because thecritical event is an ongoing or developing situation or because aresponder 110 has made a request for additional information regarding aspecified area, the ERC 200 can repeat steps 506 to 512 to gatheradditional information. If additional information is not needed (step514), the system waits for another emergency call (step 516).

If additional information is collected, the additional information isthen used to update or modify the contemporaneous composite diagram 232.The ability to update the diagram 232 allows the responder(s) 110 toview a critical event as it unfolds and to predict where and/or whenfuture events might take place. For example, supplemental informationcollected in successive seconds can indicate which direction a suspect'scar is moving, and responders 110 can set up road blocks at appropriateintersections. In one embodiment, if successive images are captured at aparticular location, the display controller 229 can display thesuccessive images in sequence, creating, in effect, a movie showing the“flow” or progression of events. This function can be controlled locallyor remotely by the responders 110.

According to versions of the present invention, contemporaneousinformation relating to a critical event can be collected from aplurality of reporting devices at specified locations associated withthe critical event. This contemporaneous information can include textmessages, live voice data and image data. An emergency response center200 collects the information and displays it in a contemporaneouscomposite diagram 232 that can include at least one situation map 233depicting a specified area of interest. The contemporaneous compositediagram 232, which is updateable, allows emergency response personnel110 to analyze the critical event in a comprehensive manner and todevise an effective response. Because the information on the diagram 232can be updated continuously, a developing critical situation can bemonitored effectively.

The present invention is directed to a method and system for collectingcontemporaneous information relating to a critical event. The presentinvention has been described in accordance with the embodiments shown,and one of ordinary skill in the art will readily recognize that therecould be variations to the embodiments, and any variations would bewithin the spirit and scope of the present invention. Accordingly, manymodifications may be made by one of ordinary skill in the art withoutdeparting from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

1. A method for collecting contemporaneous information relating to acritical event, the method comprising: receiving a call requesting anemergency response to a critical event; in response to receiving thecall: locating a plurality of reporting devices including a set ofmobile devices located in a specified area related to the critical eventbased on global positioning system (GPS) information associated witheach of the mobile devices; selecting at least one mobile device towhich a request is to be transmitted from the set of mobile devices;using at least one communication network to transmit the request forsupplemental information from the selected at least one mobile deviceincluded in the plurality of reporting devices located in the specifiedarea related to the critical event; and receiving the supplementalinformation over the at least one communication network.
 2. The methodof claim 1 further including: transmitting a second request foradditional information from the plurality of reporting devices locatedin the specified area related to the critical event such that an ongoingcritical event can be monitored.
 3. The method of claim 2 furthercomprising: using the supplemental and additional information to createan appropriate response to the critical event as the event develops. 4.The method of claim 1 wherein the request for supplemental informationis at least one of a live call, an automated text message, and anautomated voice message.
 5. The method of claim 1 further comprising:prior to transmitting the request to the plurality of reporting devices,analyzing the call to determine whether a critical event is beingreported; and notifying at least one appropriate emergency responder ifthe event is not a critical event.
 6. The method of claim 1 whereinreceiving supplemental information includes receiving any one or all oftext messages, video clips, captured image data and live voice data. 7.The method of claim 6 further comprising: processing the supplementalinformation to create a contemporaneous composite diagram of thecritical event, the composite diagram including at least one situationmap including text and image data posted at a location from which thesupplemental information originated and a timestamp indicating when thesupplemental information was received; and displaying thecontemporaneous composite diagram.
 8. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising: displaying the contemporaneous composite diagram at anemergency responder.
 9. A system for collecting contemporaneousinformation relating to a critical event, the system comprising: atleast one communication network accessible by a plurality of reportingdevices located in a specified area related to the critical event,wherein the plurality of reporting devices includes at least one mobiledevice; and an emergency response center coupled to the at least onecommunication network, the emergency response center comprising: acommunication interface for transmitting and receiving data to and fromthe at least one communication network; and a plurality of receivingstations coupled to the communication interface, wherein at least one ofthe receiving stations is configured for locating a plurality ofreporting devices including a set of mobile devices located in aspecified area related to the critical event based on global positioningsystem (GPS) information associated with each of the mobile devices,selecting the at least one mobile device to which the request is to betransmitted from the set of mobile devices, using the at least onecommunication network to transmit requests for supplemental informationregarding the critical event from the selected at least one mobiledevice included in the plurality of reporting devices located in thespecified area related to the critical event, and wherein the at leastone receiving station is configured for receiving the supplementalinformation over the at least one communication network.
 10. The systemof claim 9 wherein the supplemental information provided by theplurality of reporting devices includes text messages, video clips,captured image data, and live voice data.
 11. The system of claim 9wherein the at least one receiving station includes an audio to textconverter for transcribing live voice data from a conversation into awritten report.
 12. The system of claim 9 wherein the supplementalinformation is updated periodically or upon request.
 13. The system ofclaim 12, wherein the emergency response center further includes acentral command module coupled to the plurality of receiving stations,the central command module for organizing the received supplementalinformation by time and location to create a contemporaneous compositediagram of the critical event, the composite diagram including at leastone situation map with the supplemental information posted at a locationfrom which the supplemental information originated.
 14. The system ofclaim 13 wherein the central command module updates the contemporaneouscomposite diagram when additional supplemental information is receivedby the receiving stations.
 15. The system of claim 13 wherein theemergency response center further includes a display coupled to thecentral command module for displaying the contemporaneous compositediagram.
 16. The system of claim 13 wherein the communication interfacetransmits and receives data to and from at least one emergencyresponder.
 17. The system of claim 16 wherein the communicationinterface is used to transmit the contemporaneous composite diagram tothe at least one emergency responder to be displayed on a display at theemergency responder.
 18. The system of claim 9 wherein the at least onecommunication network includes a secure emergency communication channelthat is accessible by the emergency response center such that requeststransmitted by the emergency response center over the secure emergencycommunication channel are prioritized over any other communicationchannel.